Faculty Profile

Melissa Lemons

Associate Professor, Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

B.A., Yale University

M.A., University of California, San Diego

M.A., Bowie State University

M.D., Union Theological Seminary in New York City

Ph.D., Loyola University Maryland

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Biography

Dr. Melissa Lemons is a Nationally Certified Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health in Delaware. She joined the CMHC faculty in 2019 and teaches a variety of courses in the program, including Lifespan Development, which was the focus of her first graduate work in psychology. She taught psychology for UMUC, now the University of Maryland Global Campus, for several years and worked in Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, as well as Maryland and online.

Melissa has a small private practice in counseling, Fruitful Conversations, where she works with adults and couples. Her practice specializes in serving underrepresented populations and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. She has served on the Psychotherapy Commission for ACPE and the Branch Development Committee for the American Counseling Association. She is a volunteer subject matter expert for the NCE (National Counselor Examination). She has presented at numerous conferences on spirituality, sexuality, intergenerational trauma, and education.

Before joining Wilmington University, Melissa served as a full-time pastor for the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). She continues to advocate for full inclusion and social justice for people of color and minoritized sexualities in religion and counseling. She cares for community cats in her neighborhood.